Time Kill
by Tridentwatch
Summary: ANBU captain Naruto goes back in time to fix things.


Time Traveller  
By Tridentwatch

SUMMARY: NARUTO IS AN ANBU CAPTAIN. KONOHA IS DESTROYED BY ENEMIES SO HE GOES BACK IN TIME TO FIX THINGS. PAIRING: NARUTO/ANKO

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Chapter One

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"Sir, Orochimaru's troops have infiltrated the border!" A chuunin yelled at Naruto. The Anbu captain scowled beneath his fox mask.

"Already?" The chuunin nodded frantically.

"Very well, send a message to the Hokage to assemble the troops."

"There is something you should know sir. Uchiha Sasuke is leading the attack."

Naruto's breath hitched in anger. He glanced around the small headquarters of ANBU, a cluttered room filled with papers marking different strategies. Quickly he rummaged through and pulled out a worn out phamphlet. He shuffled through, and found the strategy required. Memorizing the patterns, he nodded and turned back to the confused Chuunin.

"Very well, go to the Hokage and tell her to prepare the defences. This one's not a fake attack. This is the real thing."

The chuunin gulped and raced out the door. Naruto sighed, before turning to the weapons room and strapping himself up.

An ANBU kanata hung at his waist, a kunai strapped at each wrist, and shruirken filled a pouch. Naruto, super elite ANBU captain, recently promoted after Shikimaru's murder at the hands of Sasuke, prepared for an assassination mission.

"Let's go Kyuubi." Naruto said in his mind.

"You are foolish, Naruto. You will get killed battling against these demons!"

"I have to do this. Orochimaru's so powerful now, and Konoha is the only village left standing against the Sound. If we don't…" Fists clenched, he stormed out into the bright sunshine. Surprisingly he was met with several cold white masks.

The Elite ANBU was assembled. These six ANBU were the best of the best: Tenten, weapons specialist, Neji, scout and powerhouse, Kiba, scout and powerhouse, Hinata, healer, Chouji, a river of pure power, and the last was Kakashi. His sensei, second in command.

"You have heard?" Naruto asked, straight to business. He was not one to talk.

"Sasuke is leading the battle. Yes we have heard." Neji said in a cool indifferent tone. Inside he was probably seething.

"Is Sakura beside him?"

"Yeah."

"Okay lets go."

Straight to business, serious. That was the way of the ANBU. They were all strapped to the hilt with weapons, especially Tenten. And they were off. Flying on top of building to building, ignoring the rubble and destruction around them. Konoha had seen better days, but with the war and the constant attacks…. This was to be expected.

In ten minutes flat they came to the border wall, where Sasuke and the sound's armies were being held off by Konoha's chuunin. The ANBU quickly made their way to the jounin in charge here, and fired off some quick questions.

"Status?"

"15 chuunin dead, the rest are injured. We can't hold them off for long sir."

Naruto nodded, before turning to the group. "You know the plan, Stage B." Shikamaru had made plans for practically every situation, and in times like this, Stage B was a godsend.

Simply put it was the assassination of the one in charge on the enemy. This would disorganize the troops and Konoha could defend itself. If it failed, they were dead.

"Where is Orochimaru?" Tenten wondered aloud. "Shouldn't he be here too?"

Naruto nodded, "This poses a problem. What do you think we should do Kakashi?"

The white haired juunin sighed, before running a pale hand through his white hair. "Let's deal with this first, then we will patrol through the village to make sure nothing is wrong."

Naruto nodded his assent with the plan, before turning his attention back to the battle. They were playing it out pretty cautiously, the Konoha troops that is. Sasuke's forces on the other hand were practically suicidal.

Naruto wondered why Sasuke was doing this, not for the first time. The bastard had already gotten his revenge killing his brother along with the rest of Akatsuki at his lord Orochimaru's command. Why was he still fighting against the village. It made little sense to Naruto, but then again he wasn't all that smart after all.

He would have left this to Shikamaru to figure out. Too bad he was dead. Scowling in anger at the thought of his best strategist getting his head blown off, he stepped forward.

"ANBU! Charge!" Naruto said in a low gutteral tone. The rest shuddered knowing what this was.

Kyuubi was out to play.

Beastlike, Naruto sped up with his team covering his back. He went straight to the middle of the battle and punched a fist at Sasuke's head.

The battle had started.

And it ended with Orochimaru jumping out of his hiding place and striking Naruto down with a powerful assassination technique.

"The plan worked perfectly Sasuke-kun, kukukuke."

Sasuke let out a smirk, and quickly dealt with the rest of the ANBU forces.

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Naruto was back inside the sewers of his mind. He knew this place, so tiredly with a sigh he started walking until he reached the Kyuubi cage. He wondered if the fox demon was going to demand to release him again… The demon did that about once a week or so.

"Ok what do you want demon?" Growled Naruto.

"Show respect toward me, boy." Roared Kyuubi. "You are on the verge of death. I can save you… for a price."

"Huh?" Naruto said, confused. He scratched his head, "What do you mean?"

"It was a trap. You fell for it, Orochimaru killed you. You will die soon. If you want to be saved, accept my deal!"

Naruto roared out laughing. "You think I'm stupid Kyuubi. Of all the lamest tricks to try and release the seal this one takes the cake."

"I am not joking, Naruto." The fox sounded sad, almost. "This is the end for you."

The 23 year old boy gulped, he could tell the demon fox was not lying. "OK what's the deal?"

"I will take you back in time to another dimension where you will return to your twelve year old form. In return, you will release me upon this world."

Naruto gasped, before sitting down on the murky pool of water deep in thought. He could sense the Kyuubi was not lying and practically felt the life essence leaving him slowly. At this pace he would die in seconds!

"Promise me you won't hurt my friends?"

"No."

He sighed, and regretted he had to do this. But in the end survival won out over concern for other people. The cold life of the ANBU did that after all.

"Ok I accept."

"Excellent choice. Get ready boy. Once I finish my demon jutsu, your verbal assent for my freedom will be enough for me to leave this wretched prison." The demon paused. "You will never see me again. And I likewise you. Good luck in your next life."

Naruto nodded, "You too. Take care Kitsune." He had no feeling in these words however. The two hated each other from the start, and they both knew that the other wished them dead.

But Kyuubi never backed out of a deal. And that had rubbed off on Naruto too.

With a mighty roar, Kyuubi launched the demon jitsu, his one prized technique that he himself had invented.

With a tingle Naruto disappeared from existence, and where Naruto once was in the forest, the Kyuubi had taken it's place.

The nine tailed demon fox let out a sly smirk at the shock of the puny ninjas. He gave a battle cry, and proceeded to demolish the world.

Meanwhile, a twelve year old boy woke up. It was the day of the Ninja Academy Exam. Suddenly he felt an electric shock run through him, before his consciousness was winked out of existence. In it's place, a tired and broken ANBU captain stood. He smirked, but that quickly left his face.

He was actually twelve. He was actually in his twelve year old body.

He sighed, before saying a phrase he had picked up from a dear deceased friend.

"How troublesome."

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Chapter Two

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Naruto immediately dropped to the floor, falling unconscious. Travelling between dimensions was after all tiring. He slept for about two or three days, completely missing the Ninja Academy Exam. When he woke up, all blurry, he remembered the exam and honestly didn't care.

Of course the same could not be said for the Hokage, who sent Iruka to investigate. He found Naruto unconscious and reported back to the Hokage. When they returned with two ANBU medic nins, they found Naruto gulping down cups of ramen with a frenzy that totally shocked them.

"Err Naruto?" Iruka ventured.

The blue eyed blond boy looked at his sensei and it seemed to take him a while to recognize him.

"Hey Iruka-sensei! What's going on?" He said pretending to be dumb while looking between him, the Hokage, and the two ANBU medics.

"How are you doing Naruto?" The Hokage said gently.

"Fine." Naruto said suspiciously. He did not want to reveal to the world how he travelled between dimensions. It would totally ruin the element of surprise he needed to murder Orochimaru and Sasuke.

"Why didn't you come to the exam?" Iruka roared. "You were asleep?!"

"Hehe, I don't know. When's the exam?"

"You missed it, baka." Iruka growled.

"Well can I take it again?"

"Not until next year."

Naruto shrugged, not really caring. "Okay I'll be there." With that, he went to his bedroom, got a towel and prepared to take a shower.

"Why did you miss the exam Naruto?" The Hokage asked.

"I don't know. I just woke up." He said trying to play dumb.

"Well if there is nothing else, Hokage-sama, we should be leaving now." One of the medic nins said.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"They are medic nins, we thought something had happened."

"Um… Nothing happened Hokage."

The Hokage and Iruka were genuinely confused. Why was Naruto being so polite? At their expressions, the boy realized he had made a mistake.

"Dammit," He cursed inside his head. Outside he let out a nice smile. "So… want to get some ramen at Irichukara's? Your treat!"

The Hokage, and the boy's sensei both sweatdropped. 'Same old Naruto.' They thought, but fondly.

Naruto however grabbed their hands and started dragging them almost to the ramen stand. He did not particularly want to do this but he had to avoid suspicion until the Chuunin exam where he would ambush Orochimaru and kill him. Then he would kill the bastard Sasuke who betrayed the village. And then…. A malicious smirk covered his face…. 'Then I will become Hokage!'

His childhood dream was back!

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Naruto quickly gobbled up ramen like a beast, since he had not eaten for 2 days. The Hokage and Iruka just stared in fascination. About fifteen bowls later, the over enthusiastic boy was ready for talk.

"Hey, old man! Why can't I take the test right now?"

The Hokage sighed, "We have perfectly even teams of genin, so even if you did pass you would still have to wait a year to get on the team."

Iruka nodded, scratching the scar on his nose. "That's right Naruto. You should start training though, you only have a year to get ready for the Ninja exam!"

"But I can do it right now!" the boy complained, "I'll show you!"

He sat up, and concentrated on his chakra before shouting "Bunshin no jutsu!"

Smoke appeared, before a demented body that barely resembled Naruto appeared.

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking confused. Inwardly he smirked at the faces. He had even fooled the Hokage! He could do this easily, he only made to look like he was an idiot. The last thing he wanted was suspicion to be drawn onto the dead last boy. 'At least until I kill Orochimaru and save Saindaime's life.'

"Naruto, be on time to class tomorrow morning." Iruka said, sighing. Then he got up and left. Naruto lowered his head, looking depressed. The Hokage felt a bit sorry for him, "It's okay Naruto. You will get it sooner or later."

Naruto thought fast, he had a plan to complete and without the Kyuubi's chakra fighting was going to be very hard. The seal! A sudden thought hit him, it was gone!

"I have something to tell you Hokage-sama."

The old man raised his eyebrows, saying, "What is it?"

"I always had this feeling that someone was there in my head like some sort of presence or something." The boy pretended he couldn't put it in words and used his facial expression and hand gestures to communicate more.

"Something big, like a big demon or something."

The old man froze in fear. 'Did the boy know?' He thought. Naruto nodded inwardly knowing what was going on in the old man's head.

"Then it was gone!"

Saindaime snapped his head in Naruto's eye. He could detect lies instantly, so he knew Naruto was telling the truth. Slowly his eyes wondered to the boy's stomach, and used some chakra in his eyes to see the seal.

It was gone.

The old man gulped, before saying "What happened?"

"I don't know, its probably something stupid but…"

"No please, go on." Saindaime Hokage said, looking anxious.

"Well, then when I felt something leave me it was like a headache going away. A big relief and all. Then I sort of dropped and fell asleep." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

'This changes things' The Hokage thought. 'I will need to investigate this more.'

"Say Naruto, would you like to learn some jutsus?"

It was almost funny watching the boys eyes light up, "Are you going to teach me old man?!" He demanded happily.

"Well… Okay I will teach you one. Come back tomorrow and meet me at this Ramen stand for breakfast."

"Yahoo!" The boy shot a fist in the air before running away.

Saindaime sighed happily, 'to have the joy of youth…'

"So how much do I owe you?"

The Hokage's happiness was cut short at the sight of the pile of bowls that Naruto had finished….

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Naruto returned to his apartment, deep in thought. He realized something, 'my old self is just like my new one so it won't be that hard to keep this disguise up.'

Forced cheerfulness was something Naruto excelled at. Even when he was ANBU he could never mope around and be depressed. But right now he was feeling a bit down.

"How are my friends," He wondered. "Are they dead?"

"Probably. The bastard fox would have killed them. But where is he in this dimension…?"

He concluded that it was probably winked out of existence when he took the place of his younger self. He felt a bit guilty about destroying a little boy's psych just like that but it was necessary for his own survival.

That's all that matters anyways. Cheerfulness came to him once again as he decided what to do. Right now he had three goals: Kill Orochimaru and Sasuke if he even thinks of turning traitor, deal with the Akatsuki, (mainly for revenge), and lastly become Hokage.

The last goal had not left him. It gave him strength to never give up and persevere because that's what a Hokage does.

He tried to think like Shikamaru, what would he do? Hmm….

He could probably take down Orochimaru by surprise in the Chuunin exam, but first he would have to train up. The Akatsuki were a bit of a mystery to him, so he would have to think hard on how to handle it. And then of course he needed to become Hokage.

'To become Hokage one must be the best jounin in the village, knowing more jutsus than anyone else, hold their own against the best taijutsu master in the village, and be on equal footing with the best gengutsu specialist in the village.' He recited in his mind. It came out of a textbook on Hokages…

"Well I have a lot of training to do!" He said out loud clenching his fists.

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The next few weeks passed by in a blur. He never attended the academy, dodged the Hokage's questions, and trained his physical body to increase his chakra and stamina. He had knowledge, but he did not have enough chakra to use them. Naruto was obsessed with training, and averaged only 7 hours of sleep. The rest of the time he trained his body, and practiced tree walking and water climbing to increase his chakra reserves and stamina. He also meditated a few hours a day. It gave him better concentration, and increased his control over his chakra.

One day when he was having breakfast, Iruka confronted him. The scarred sensei at the academy furiously knocked on Naruto's door wishing he had done this sooner.

"Open up Naruto!" He growled.

The boy quickly opened the door, "Hi Iruka-sensei!" He shouted cheerfully.

"Where have you been?" Iruka complained. "Why didn't you attend any of your academy classes, don't tell me you have given up on your dream!"

"No!" Naruto furiously said. "I will become Hokage!"

"Then what the hell have you been doing all these weeks?"

"Training."

"Huh?" Iruka fumed.

"Ya, I have been jogging around the village every day and practicing my taijutsu! Look I'll show you." Without waiting for an answer, he dragged Iruka to a nearby forest.

"Let's spar sensei!" He said.

"Naruto…" Iruka sighed, "Don't be foolish."

"If you defeat me in this spar I will never pull a prank on this village again."

Iruka's ears perked, "Never?" Naruto was completely screwed, Iruka thought.

"Never." Naruto replied confidently. "I will even attend the academy classes and work extra hard!"

"But If I defeat you, then you will have to make me a genin!"

"Okay Naruto." Iruka held out his hand, "Let's shake on it."

Naruto nodded, and they shook hands clinching the deal.

"Ready sensei?"

Iruka nodded, "Rules?"

"Taijutsu only. I am not very good at the rest." Naruto said with a pout.

Again, his sensei nodded and got into fighting stance. Naruto did likewise.

The friendly spar had begun. Naruto's entire plan rested with this match. If he failed… He was, like Iruka guessed, basically screwed.

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Chapter Three

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"Are you ready to fight me sensei!" Shouted Naruto, a bit cockily.

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

The two got into basic taijutsu fighting stance, and slowly circled each other. Then Naruto, never one to wait too long, started the fight with a quick flying kick to Iruka's stomach.

"Ooof," Iruka gasped. "Didn't see that one coming." He got off the ground and looked carefully at the smirking boy.

"I won't go easy on you anymore Naruto."

"Bring it on tough guy."

Iruka moulded chakra to his feet, and jumped at Naruto. He launched a roundhouse kick to his face, which was blocked by the boy's left hand. Quickly recovering, he crouched and swept at Naruto's feet.

The boy tripped and fell backwards but instead of landing with a crash he back flipped and ran right at Iruka as quickly as possible.

The sensei's eyes widened at his quick reactions. He was pressed into dodging Naruto's punches and parrying his blows. Suddenly Naruto stopped.

"Huh? Something wrong Naruto?" Iruka moved closer, a look of concern on his face.

"Nope!" He said before proceeding to head bang his teacher's nose. "Ouch! That's gotta hurt Iruka-sensei."

Growling, Iruka wiped the blood running down his face and launched himself at Naruto using a dizzying array of moves that the boy had trouble keeping up with.

"Dammit my body is too weak!" Naruto muttered to himself and vowed to train his body more.

Iruka launched a quick jab with his elbow toward Naruto's chin, before turning around and delivering a crushing chakra enhanced kick the boy's chest. The boy hit a tree twenty feet away, and slid to the ground. He was obviously unconscious.

Iruka gasped, before running to the boy. "Shit, I went overboard. I knew I shouldn't have done that!"

Moaning, Naruto slowly got up and got in fighting stance again. Iruka breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to stop the fight when Naruto ran up to him and grabbed him in a hand choke. The boy reached back his fist and proceeded to punch Iruka in the nose. The sensei clenched his eyes shut and almost shit himself.

The blow never landed.

"Haha I got ya sensei!" Naruto whooped. "Give up?"

"Yeah." Iruka said, "Wow Naruto. Your taijutsu skills have really improved." He sounded amazed while he reached up and untied his hia-ate. A deal was a deal after all.

Naruto gave him a wide grin as he grabbed the headband and tied it around his head.

"Yay I win!" He cheered. "Okay now put me on a team sensei."

Iruka sadly shook his head. "Didn't the Hokage tell you that all the teams were full?"

"Huh? But I am a genin now. Just put me in any old team I don't care. One extra person won't matter right?"

Iruka sighed. "You fought bravely, and with good skill. Unfortunately all the jounin are busy with missions or training their own genin team…. You will have to wait until next year Naruto."

"What?!" Naruto gaped giving a look of pure rage and disappointment. "But-"

"I am sorry."

"But I worked so hard!" Naruto screamed almost close to tears.

"There is one way," Iruka hesitated, "If you can find a jounin who will agree train you then I suppose you could be on their team…"

Naruto threw a fist in the air, smiling widely. "Okay Iruka-sensei. I will find a team! Thanks."

He ran off leaving Iruka confused and flustered that he hadn't gotten to ask how Naruto increased his taijutsu so dramatically. He shuffled away to the Hokage tower, intent on reporting what happened and getting another Hia-ate.

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Getting back to his apartment in the slums, he ate some ramen and rested for a bit. Then he began looking for Kakashi.

"He will be my genin instructor and my ticket to the Chuunin exam so I can kill Orochimaru!" Naruto thought to himself.

He ran out the house, and went to the Hokage tower. As he was entering he was stopped by two Chuunin guards.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here?" One of them asked.

"I am looking for a jounin to be my sensei." Naruto replied hotly, "Get out of my way!"

"Hey he's the kid I was telling you about. The one with the demon shoved up his-"

The other Chuunin elbowed his partner, before moving aside. "Don't take too long." He replied gruffly.

"Yeah, thanks." Naruto said. Under his breath he muttered, "Sheesh what idiots."

The two Chuunin stiffened, and turned around angrily. But he was gone, running into the big chamber where the teams got missions. It was still morning time, and thus the Hokage and his staff was still there.

"Ah, Naruto! What brings you here?" Saindaime Hokage asked, frowning.

"I'm a genin now Hokage." Naruto said, "I want to find a jounin to take me on his team."

"How did you get the hia-ate?"

"Iruka-sensei gave it to me after I defeated him in a spar."

Just then, Iruka himself walked in looking tired and worn out. "Yeah, he's right. I promised he would become a genin if he could defeat me."

The Hokage just nodded, "But all the jounin are busy so now would not be a-"

"Iruka said I can get on a team if a jounin accepts me."

"Ah, I see." The Hokage shot a look toward Iruka which said, 'explain everything.'

The Hokage pointed out where each of the ten jounin were. Kakashi's team was pulling out garbage from a river. 'Easy as one two three.' Naruto said to himself before running off.

"So what happened, Iruka?" The Hokage asked.

"We agreed to a spar. If he won he would become a genin and if I won he would never pull a prank again."

The Hokage looked incredulous. "Why didn't you put him down?" He was a bit annoyed that Iruka let such an opportunity go to waste. Naruto was quite the pest with his pranks.

"I was going to but he actually defeated me fair and square. I don't know how his techniques improved so much but they were amazing!"

"Hmm…. This begs watching."

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As Naruto had guessed, Team Seven's sensei, Kakashi, was sitting under the shade of a tree reading his favorite Icha Icha novel.

Being an ANBU meant habits were ingrained into you, so Naruto sat a few kilometres away on a little hill and thought about how he should best approach this.

He could act powerful and show his true strength but that would give away the element of surprise. However, if he just charged in would Kakashi accept him?

Another thought struck him. Who was the third person of Team Seven?

Charge in it is then, Naruto thought firmly to himself. He put on a wide cheerful smile and ran at them. From the corner of his eye he noticed the third person.

Hyuuga Neji.

Mentally sighing at the angst he would have to trudge through with those two as teammates, he crouched right up to Kakashi.

Kakashi saw some kid smiling widely over his book. He gave a brief look of surprise, before it being replaced with the normal boredom.

"Yea, who are you?"

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" Naruto gave a smile and thumbs up pose.

"Oh god, another Gai…" Kakashi muttered under his breath.

"Okay what do you want here?"

"I am a genin of Konoha now so I need a jounin instructer. Can I be on your team?"

"No." Kakashi replied before turning away to his book. "Go away."

"Fine then be that way." Naruto growled. He was getting tired of this act and was very annoyed. He passed a brief glance to the three kids collecting garbage. An idea formed in his mind. Running up to them he shouted, "Hey you idiots! Fight me!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Sakura asked, before groaning in recognition. "Oh its you, the dropout."

Naruto said nothing, just snarled in annoyance. Breif images passed through his mind: Sasuke killing his team mates, Sakura betraying them….

He lifted a hand and smacked Sakura away with a sickening crack. "That felt good."

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Chapter Four

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Naruto looked at his hand, then looked at Sakura, wet and crouched in the dirty river water. His eyes moved slowly to her team mates. Sasuke looked puzzled, while Neji looked furious.

"You bastard! What did you do that for?" Sakura hissed, she stumbled up and tried to take a punch at Naruto. He just dodged it from reflex, she stopped and looked faintly annoyed.

"Why did you smack my team mate, baka?" Sasuke asked, a bit amused.

"Yes, I would like to know as well. I do not condone aggression against my own team-mates." Hyuuga Neji said.

Naruto rolled his eyes, his surprise at what he did disappearing at these annoying little brats.

"Hey lets make a deal. You three fight me, and if I win, ask your sensei to put me on your team. If you win I'll quit being a ninja forever, and apologize to Sakura." He said as reasonably as possible.

"Deal! I'm gonna make you pay." Snarled Sakura with an intensely feral grin.

"I'm not done yet. If I win and Kakashi doesn't allow me on your team, you three have to quit this team. Not quit being ninjas, just wait for another team to come next year."

Sasuke snorted, "What foolishness. I won't waste time on the likes of you." He turned around and went back to finishing his clean up mission.

"You'd rather be doing D-rank missions than fighting me and become stronger? Huh, no wonder you couldn't stop Itachi from murdering your entire family."

Sasuke froze, his back straightened. He turned around with a snap, scowl on his face. Narrowing his eyes he got into fighting stance, followed by Neji and Sakura. "Very well dobe. Let's get this on."

"Dobe! Dobe! Dobe! That's right I am one!" Naruto grinned widely, prancing around.

They looked at him a bit confused, and their alertness relaxed a bit. 'What an idiot!'

That was when Naruto struck, kicking Sasuke in the chin. The other two jumped back a bit before starting their own attack.

Sasuke was not number one rookie for no reason. He took the blow and lifted himself backward so to avoid most of the force of the kick. He ducked and swept at Naruto's feet, making ripples in the knee length water.

"Die!"

Naruto jumped back, dodging Sasuke's attack. He was about to press forward when he felt a fist hit his shoulder. Neji! Byakugen activated, and Gentle Fist style in use, Naruto was hard pressed to defend himself.

He focused chakra to his feet and jumped to dry land, doing a back flip in midair as he landed. His shoulder was numbed. Quickly he poured some healing chakra into the tenkutsuki point that was hit, and it was healed in a few seconds. He panted before recovering and observing the genin team.

He cast his favourite jutsu: Kage Bunshin no jutsu!

Eighty Naruto clones appeared, smirks on all their faces and shuriken in their hands. Without giving much warning they started throwing the weapons at the genin team.

"Fuck! Back guys." Sasuke yelled, as the team dodged Naruto's shuriken.

The clones added some throwing knives to the attack as well, showering the team with a rain of sharp things.

"How does he have so many weapons?" Sakura asked, frustrated. Neji pinched his eyebrows, before explaining.

"They are Kage Bunshin weapons, and disappear when they hit something. That doesn't mean they won't hurt, so dodge them."

"But how does he know this?"

"How the hell should I know?" Neji was very annoyed, Naruto would not let the team get close to him at all. They were trapped it seemed, deep water at their backs and Naruto clones at their front. They could only move the side.

Sasuke groaned as he was hit with a knife in his left thigh. "This is not working. Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto yelled, "He is watching the fight, idiot. Don't think I can't hear you."

Sakura gasped as she was hit with a rain of shuriken. They popped as soon as they cut her so she didn't have to pull them out. But she was hurt pretty bad, and crouched to her knees.

"Sakura!" Sasuke said, alarmed.

Neji's face grew vague. "Leave her." He ordered, "We have to get closer to him. Got any ideas?"

Sasuke drew in a long breath and let it hiss out slowly, "He has to stop sometime. Soon he will run out of weapons, right?"

Neji shook his head. "As long as he can keep making Kage Bunshin, he won't run out. "

"So then we have to last until he runs out of chakra." Sasuke cursed as he dodged a knife that almost took off his ear. "Let's split up. He will have a harder time getting us."

The Naruto clones on dry land smirked, and glided over the water, forming a semi-circle around the pair. "Trying to run away?"

"You bastard, what did you do to Sakura?"

"She's tied up under a tree." Naruto rolled his eyes, "Don't worry I won't harm my future team mate." As he said this he did not halt the showers of sharp pointy things, nor did the pair stop the dodging.

"Enough. Stop it, Naruto." A cold voice snarled, "You have proven yourself. You can be on the team."

Naruto turned around, and grinned at Kakashi's narrowed eye. "Thank you sensei. I won't disappoint." He was a bit unnerved to see the white-haired man also standing calmly on the water, but it was to be expected.

Kakashi just grunted, and motioned for Naruto to leave. "Come back tomorrow at ten am. Don't be late." The boy snorted, "I'll be right after you, don't worry."

Kakashi watched him leave before turning on the pair. He scoffed, "Two genius ninja from the best of clans getting beat by dead last. Pathetic. You both need to train harder."

The pair lowered their heads, angry and embarrassed. "How did he do that…?"

"He obviously trained harder than you two. Now get going. Tomorrow I want to see some improvement."

Kakashi sighed as the pair left. Then he floated off the water, and went to Sakura. He untied the wires binding her, and healed her injuries. She was crying it seemed, tears were running down here face.

"I was useless…." She murmured.

"So were they. But do you want to be stronger Sakura?"

"Yes, sensei. But I don't know if I can." She lowered her head in shame.

"You can, but it will take hard work. Today I want you to jog around the village twenty times. It will take you the rest of the day, but if you do that every day your stamina will improve…" Kakashi trailed off before sighing.

"Naruto is a closet genius it seems. You three will need to be able to keep up with him. Especially you, Sakura."

The girl nodded and raised her hand. She wiped the tears off her face as her green eyes hardened in determination.

"I won't fail you sensei."

Kakashi nodded, turning around he walked away. "Sayonara, good luck with your training." He waved, and was gone in a puff of smoke.

This was certainly a new side to Kakashi, Sakura thought in wonder. Who knew he could actually be a good sensei….

All in all, even after a humiliating and not to mention confusing defeat at the hands of the dead last, she felt a bit better. More motivated, and more driven.

--------

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office in a hurry without even bothering to knock. He checked his forward motion in time to give a bow to Sarutobi, the third Hokage of Konoha.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Hokage-sama but there's something you should know."

Sarutobi sighed, and raised himself too his feat. "Sit down, Kakashi. What happened?" He asked concerned.

"It's the Kyuubi kid. He assaulted my team, the one with the genius Uchiha and Hyuuga. He beat them without even a scratch to himself, so I was forced to accept him as a genin in my team."

Briefly he related what happened to the Hokage who listened carefully and asked some probing questions. How efficient was Naruto's throwing. How many clones? And so forth…

"I see. Naruto has changed it seems. I don't think he is quite a closet genius but something certainly has changed." Sarutobi murmured.

"Huh Hokage? You said something?"

"Hmm?" He said. "No, never mind. I have something to tell you though. It's about the 'Kyuubi kid' as you put it."

"Yes sir, what is it?"

"The Kyuubi in him is gone. His seal has deactivated. It's like the Kyuubi was destroyed inside the boy." At Kakashi's confused look he elaborated. "The Kyuubi is gone. It's no more. It's dead."

"Ah… How?"

"Don't worry your head about it. I'm looking into it myself. But I want you to observe Naruto and see what he does, his skills and such."

"I thought you might say that. That was the reason I accepted him into my team in the first place."

"Ah, now don't you have some Icha Icha Paradise books to read."

"Err…" Kakashi shifted in his chair, and examined his feet. A crimson blush covered his ears. His Hokage knew!

Sarutobi gave a hearty laugh full of the power of youth or so Gai would say. "I have some you can borrow if you like," He said slyly, pervert to pervert.

----------

Naruto was relaxing in a dirty bath tub, washing out the grime and the sweat off his body. He steepled his fingers in a thoughtful expression as he went over the battle.

Did I show them too much… He wondered before shaking himself out of such demoralizing thoughts.

He had to concentrate on his plans now, not on his past mistakes.

Orochimaru…. Someone's out to get you.Naruto awoke at the crack of dawn, blinking sleepily in the orange glow of the sunrise. He took a deep breath of fresh air, walking to the open window, and looked outside. Konoha looked beautiful right now, the orange yellow light made the trees glow with the fires of youth.

Naruto winced at his mental expression, but he had to admit the scene right now was truly… inspiring. This was what he liked about Konoha, the peaceful setting in the early morning when nobody was awake, the birds chirping in the trees, a start of a new day.

Memories flowed through him, childhood pranks, games with his genin team, learning certain perverted things from ero-sannin, reading Icha Icha in a hammock after a tiring mission and the like.

Naruto let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Konoha, Konoha, how I love thee… He thought fondly. His eyes grew distant, "I am not going to let it happen again!"

With that he trained, harder than he had ever done so before. He was full of anger as he jogged around the village, punched logs, and trained his body.

-----------------------

The genin team meeting was the last thing Naruto wanted to do. What he really desired was a bit of action, something to get his heart pumping. D-Rank missions just wouldn't cut it.

He pondered a bit on sending in a Kage Bunshin, but decided against it. Responsibilities, after all…

Frankly, he didn't care jack about his missions but he had to kill time until the Chuunin exam so might as well go.

The meeting spot was a training area where the genin test was held, the one with the bells. He remembered it well. 'Is Kakashi going to test me again?' He wondered.

Naruto walked at a leisurely pace, a lunch bag in one hand, and a ball in the other. He was planning on chucking it at his sensei if he dared to be late. 'I've gotta teach him who he's dealing with here,' He thought viciously.

He reached the training spot with time to spare. With a quick glance to the shadow of a tree, he guessed it was around eleven. Time to spare indeed.

"Oi! Where have you been?" Snapped Sakura, an eye twitching. Beside her, the two genius genin were sparring, they had obviously been doing it for a while judging by the sweat.

"Eh? Why do you care, dead last?" Naruto said, smirking while mentally saying, right back at ya.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked down in embarrassment and shame. For a moment Naruto felt a twinge at his conscience but he roughly pushed it away.

'They have to die… for the safety of the village. Or at least Sasuke has to.'

"Hmm… Sorry Sakura, but it is the truth." He said honestly.

"Shut up!" She snapped, raising a fist. "I am at the top of the class right after Sasuke, yesterday's battle was just a fluke. You are really going to get it…"

Naruto rolled his eyes, noticing Sasuke and Neji stopping their spar and glaring at him. "Right, maybe we should have a rematch."

"Yes, let's." Sasuke said.

"Later, I don't feel like it now." Naruto turned around and sat under the shade of an oak tree. Resting, he opened his pack and took out a bite to eat. Then he shut his eyes, and just relaxed.

"Naruto wake up," Kakashi said, shaking him on the shoulder.  
Chapter Five

Naruto awoke the next morning, a bright and sunny day where the birds were chirping and the shops were just opening. It was the start of a new day, and Naruto did not intend to waste it. He said to himself, "I am going to become stronger to protect Konoha!" That was his vow. That was his hope. His dream was to become the Hokage, but he could not do that if Konoha was destroyed.

Orochimaru.

Akatsuki.

Those were his two main enemies, the two groups that he intended to defeat, and defeat spectacularly. He had a second chance now, a new world, a new life to start over. He was not going to waste it.

He looked at the alarm clock that lay on the kitchen fridge. It was 9 in the morning. Kakashi had told him to come at ten. Naruto had lots of time, he decided because Kakashi usually came late.

But... He wanted to get to know his team better. Get their trust. So he ate a quick breakfast that consisted of apples plucked from a tree near his dingy apartment, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, and ran to the meeting place.

He reached there in record time, two minutes.

Sasuke was leaning against a tree, Sakura beside him trying to draw him into a conversation. Naruto rolled his eyes, ran a hand through his blond hair, and walked over to the two.

"Hey!" He waved enthusiastically. Sasuke nodded, Sakura glared.

"When is Kakashi going to get here?" They shrugged. So much for conversation. After that they brooded in silence, neither willing to talk much. Sakura on the other hand was going on and on about a party she was going to host.

This was getting ridiculous. And a waste of time. Naruto sighed, and walked away heading into the nearby forest. He climbed a tree, and decided to take a nap.

Two hours later, Kakashi arrived bearing in his arms three long wooden poles. "Oi Naruto!" He called after greeting the two.

When they were all gathered together, Kakashi explained: "Yo. The Hokage thinks some of us have been hiding our talents." Kakashi looked at Naruto for a few seconds before continuing. "He thinks we can take on some C-ranked missions after a week of training. So..." He handed them each a pole.

"Free for all spar!" He exclaimed. "You will all be fighting against each other, last one standing wins."

Naruto nodded, "Only taijutsu?"

"Yes, no chakra moves and certainly no Kage Bunshin." Kakashi glared at Naruto before continuing. "All of you spread out a few feet. When I say begin, you will start."

"Good luck Sasuke!" Sakura said, shooting him what was in her mind a sultry grin.

This was a golden opportunity for Naruto. He needed to train his body up some more, his jutsus were already perfect. Besides with no Kyuubi to boost his chakra, some good old taijutsu would help grow his reserves.

"Aye, good luck guys." He said, trying to be a sport. They ignored him. This was getting annoying...

Kakashi moved away a bit, "Okay guys! Begin!"

The three stood still, Sasuke looked determined as he held the pole with two hands one at each side. Sakura copied Sasuke. Naruto shrugged and decided to do something original.

He put his left hand forwards, holding the pole one handed. With his left hand he beckoned the two while taking a few steps backward. "Come and get me," He said. "If you can that is."

Sasuke growled, Sakura had no intention of attacking her crush. Naruto would be the first one to go down, they guessed.

They guessed wrong.

Sasuke charged, trying to hit Naruto as much as possible. Naruto blocked his hits and kept moving backwards. Sakura started to sneak up behind him.

Naruto noticed out of the corner of his eye, and just as Sakura was about to jab the pole where the sun doesn't shine, he stepped sideways before swinging the pole at both their feet. It missed.

Kakashi occasionally watched them spar, most of his attention focused on his book. This continued for the rest of the day, it looked like a stalemate.

The sun was going down, so Kakashi closed his book, and hollered. "Okay that's enough for today. Tomorrow we will have a small contest with a rival team."

They looked up in surprise, especially Naruto. 'Wow, Kakashi-sensei is actually teaching us something...' In his old universe, Kakashi was a lazy bastard.

"Which team?"

"Maito Gai has agreed to let his team spar with us. It will be a good learning opportunity, getting your butts kicked." He said apathetically. "Anyways get a good rest." Then he strolled away, still reading his book.

They all went home each very tired, hungry, and bruised and none of them had the energy to worry about the contest tomorrow.

Chapter 6 – Training: Day Two

The next day, Naruto awoke, eagerly anticipating the team competition. 'If I can't defeat Gai's team single headedly, how can I last against Orochimaru?'

He knew he could though. He was confident in his ability, because becoming an ANBU captain was extremely difficult. He had mastered at least a few hundred different jutsus. The only difference was he was not very fit, and he did not possess the Kyuubi's chakra.

His two main weaknesses. He needed more chakra reserves, and more taijutsu training. Gai's team was mainly focused on taijutsu, especially Lee, so this would be an ideal opportunity to train up.

Naruto got out of bed with a wide grin, and made a grill cheese sandwich. He ate it quickly while he ran to the meeting place.

It was pretty cold today, Naruto thought, shivering in the freezing wind. There were grey clouds above him, he sighed. It was going to rain, he just knew it. He was not a big fan of mud fights.

Once again, Sasuke and Sakura were already there. He briefly wondered how they always got there earlier, but put it out of his mind as he examined Gai's team.

Hyuuga Neji. Cold, and unemotional. A sharp contrast from Rock Lee, dressed in a green spandex suit that imitated his sensei. He had a scowl on his face as he glared at Neji. The third member, Tenten, looked excited as she twirled her shuriken and her kunai. Gai stood behind them doing push ups. Lee joined them soon enough.

Naruto walked over to his team, "Where's Kakashi?" He asked.

They shrugged. Naruto sighed and waited by a tree, meditating.

Three hours later, Kakashi showed up. "Sorry I'm late guys!" He called. The two teams and Gai made their way over to Kakashi.

"How are we going to do this, Kakashi?" Gai asked. "This idea of yours, a spar will give my team a chance to feel their youth, but what are the rules?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Let them fight." He said, already bored. He walked upon a tree, sat in a brunch and took out his book. He sat there reading, ignoring the dirty looks from his team and Gai.

"Okay!" Gai exclaimed, "Let's do this!" He gave everyone a thumbs up and a wink. "At my mark, both teams will start fighting. Don't aim to kill," He gave Neji a stern look. "Or mutilate," The look was directed at an innocent looking Tenten, "But you all should enjoy your youth."

Naruto nodded. "We can use weapons right?"

"Of course!" Tenten exclaimed, "I can't fight without them."

"Yes." Gai said. Naruto smirked and turned to his team. "Everyone get your bamboo sticks," He said. "We will show this team how to fight!"

"Don't be an idiot." Sakura muttered, while Sasuke stayed silent. But they all went to get their sticks. It was lined up in a row, leaning against a tree.

Once they were all loaded up, with Tenten having a shuriken in her hands, and Lee taking off his weights, they nodded to Gai.

"Okay teams! Ready! Set! Go!"

Naruto immediately sprung to the offensive, and attacked Neji, the strongest member. He had defeated him before, this would be easy, he thought. He waved his bamboo in circles, not letting Neji get closer. Sasuke sprung to the offensive at Lee, while Tenten started attacking Sakura.

Sakura dodged, thanks to her running skills and stamina. They were holding up alright, Naruto thought as he divided his attention on his team. Neji was trying to get closer, and he was trying to cut the bamboo stick in half. Naruto smirked, he wouldn't be able to because he had powered the bamboo with chakra. It was practically unbreakable.

Neji leaped back, landing his feet on a tree, then jumped at an immense speed right at Naruto. The boy parried Neji's blows with his stick and tried to distance himself. Neji however had other plans. "Hyuuga special attack!" He cried, and started spinning in a circle of blue light. Naruto's eyes widened as his stick was shredded into pieces. He jumped back, but caught a few blows on his arms. They were tattered and scratched. Naruto growled, ignoring his pain.

Once Neji completed his attack, he stopped to get his breath back. Naruto didn't let him however, as he immediately ran up to Neji and launched a high kick to his chin.

Neji blocked it with his hands, punching a tenkutsuki point and disabling Naruto's ankle. Naruto fell to the ground, Neji jumped at him, his hand, powered with chakra, about to strike Naruto's neck. "It's over." He said.

Naruto grinned at him. He was an ANBU captain, and he had learnt some dirty tricks after all. He spit in Neji's eye, using chakra to make the spit a bit acidic. The ball of spit hit Neji right in the bayuken eye. Neji clutched his hand over his eye, and screamed in pain. Naruto kicked Neji back, and turned around to see how his team mates were holding up. Sakura was cut all over the place, and had shuriken stuck in her shoulder and legs. She had surrendered. Sasuke was beaten unconscious. Tenten and Lee were both watching Neji's fight.

Naruto grinned. "Three versus one. I like this!" He exclaimed. Gai looked uncomfortable, Naruto wondered why.

Naruto backed up against a tree, even Kakashi was watching. Neji and his team mates closed in around him, in a circle.

"I need a bamboo!" He muttered angrily.

"Here." Kakashi shouted, throwing him a stick. Naruto looked up in surprise as he caught the stick, a glint came to his eye. It was a mean glint, like that of a fat bald man stealing a kid's Christmas presents. Mean.

"Ready?" He asked.

Neji nodded, "Attack him guys." He said calmly. Lee rushed forward, aiming a spinning kick at his face. Naruto knocked him aside with the bamboo: a quick smack to his chest. Lee flew into a tree. Chakra flowed through Naruto at an immense pace. He could feel his chakra becoming stronger by the second. It wouldn't be long before he could match his old self's power.

"Come and get me." He taunted, and jumped. He used chakra to fuel the jump as he launched himself into the air, about twenty feet or so. He landed behind Neji and Tenten. Lee got up and started running at him. Tenten took out a two kunai and threw it at him, while Neji joined Lee in the charge.

Naruto used the bamboo to knock the two kunai aside with two quick hits. Then he jumped once more, but not up, rather in the direction of the two charging genin. Their eyes widened as they saw Naruto flying toward them, the bamboo held horizontally. The ends of the bamboo hit them on the chin, knocking them over as Naruto slid to the ground. He tried to get up, but his left ankle stopped his mobility. The tenkutsuki point was still shut. He had to use his right leg for most of his taijutsu moves.

Or he could use some cool jutsus.

Naruto grinned widely, and struggled to get up. Meanwhile, Lee had jumped into the air and launched himself at Naruto with a kick. The kick hit Naruto on the forehead. Hard. He flew a few feet away and landed on the ground with a thud. Neji also started forward, but just as he was about to punch Naruto in the stomach, he rolled away. He sat up, and made a few hand seals. "Summon: Waterfall!"

A huge wave of water swept the Genin team away. Naruto panted in exhaustion, cursing his stamina, or lack of it. The Genin team was quick to get to their feet, Tenten had retrieved her Kunai and started to throw them at Naruto, who was hard pressed to dodge. She also added some shuriken.

"If you want to use jutsus, then we'll play it your way!" She shouted, "Shuriken: Multiply!" She said after making some hand seals. The two shuriken changed into fifty. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the wave of metal about to hit him. He shut his eyes and concentrated on jutsu that required no hand seals.

"Teleport!" He shouted. Suddenly just before the shuriken hit him, he popped out, and popped beside Tenten. Using the bamboo in his hand he swept at her feet. She tripped and fell, Naruto smirked and moved in for the kill, so to speak.

Suddenly Neji came up behind him and kicked him in the back. Hard. Naruto fell forward on top of Tenten, who pushed him up. Lee ran up and jumped in the air. Using the momentum, he shouted, "Dynamic Entry!"

Naruto flew away, flung like a rock. He hit the trunk of a tree, and slid down, half conscious. He would not give up though. As the team moved in for the final blow, He spluttered out: "Summon: Waterfall!"

Once again the team was swept back, but they knew they had won. Naruto had used up the last of his strength. He let unconsciousness take him, not caring if he lost.

Time Traveller

Part Two - The Degeneration Process and Revelation  
Prologue of Part Two

Naruto got up from the hospital bed with a start, gasping and panting. Sweat beads ran down his face, he just had a nightmare about the Kyuubi. The monstrous beast was unleashed upon the old world, meaner than ever, torturing, killing and maiming by the thousands. There were no bounds to his cruelty….

What have I done? He wondered as his memories came back to him. He had made a deal with the devil, and now his friends were paying for it. "What am I doing?" He asked himself.

He had no answer.

He looked out the window and into the sunset. 'Konoha is my home. I abandoned it.' He was filled with an empty longing, remorse and sadness.

The door opened. Kakashi walked in, followed by the Hokage. They looked grave and serious, Naruto recognized the look… Ninja going to battle….

"Hello sensei, Sandaime Hokage." He nodded at each, serious and unwilling to be a boy any longer. His look mirrored the two visitors.

"You seem well." Kakashi said, "We need to talk."

The Hokage stood in silence. Naruto frowned in confusion wondering what was going on. "What is it?" He asked.

There was a pregnant pause, before the Hokage spoke.

"Have a look at your arms, Naruto." He said. "Go on, look."

"Huh…? Okay."

Naruto pulled off the white bed sheet and held up his arms. It felt normal, what happened.

Then he noticed.

His hands...

His thumbs were gone.

Chapter Eight

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and surprised. "What h-happened?" He stammered out at last and looked into the Hokage's grey hard eyes.

"You are a time traveller." He said simply at last after examining Naruto. "I knew it from the first time I saw you."

Naruto gasped, "W-what?"

"Legilimency. The art of reading minds. I am quite good at it, and certainly good enough to detect changes such as this."

Naruto gulped and frantically thought about what to say next. Should he go with the truth? Or should he try to lie his way out?

"The truth, if you please. What happened in your old universe."

Naruto blinked. Had the Hokage just read his mind? Nevermind that, he had more important things to worry about. Maybe the Hokage could help him in his quest to save Konoha. He was the Hokage after all. Naruto rubbed his eyes and started on his tale.

Once he started he couldn't stop. He told the Hokage everything… Sasuke's betrayal, Orochimaru's ambush and the Hokage's murder in the Chuunin exams, the fall of the Akatsuki… It was relieving to let go of the weight, Naruto noticed. He had been under a lot of pressure, lots of decisions to be made, and now they could all be delegated to the wise old Hokage.

After Naruto had finished, the Hokage nodded and walked over to the window. "Nobody else knows you are a time traveller. I would like to keep it that way."

Naruto grinned, that was a relief! More people meant more leakage as Naruto had learnt when he was an ANBU captain. He glanced at his thumbs again, "Hey Hokage, why are my thumbs gone?" He demanded. "Did you do it?"

"No. You made a deal with the Kyuubi no Kitsune. This is demon magic, Naruto. You won't survive this."

"What?!"

"You have less than a year left before you will be whisked back to your own universe. We have a lot of things to do in that time."

"Wait, what do you mean? How do you know?"

The Hokage looked sadly at Naruto and said, "Because I have done the same thing as you to prevent…. Prevent something." He sighed and opened the door. "You should rest now. Whatever you do, don't use your chakra. That will just speed up the process."

"What will you be doing?"

"I am going to resign from my position as Hokage so I can deal with this full time."

Naruto's eyes popped out of his skull, metaphorically. "WHAT!"

The Hokage grinned mischievously, obviously enjoying the effect. "Just think what the rest of the ninjas will do when they find out."

Naruto hesitated. "You aren't going to tell them about me, are you?"

The Hokage shook his head, before walking out he whispered, "That will be our secret."

Naruto heard him however. He sighed and his lips quirked in relief. He settled down to sleep.

----------------------

Later that day, there was a knock on the door. Naruto was eating his lunch, gratefully provided by the nurses. "Come in!" He shouted, intent to see who his visitors were.

It was his team, and Gai's Team. Kakashi also followed. "Hey Naruto!" Gai and Lee called out cheerfully. "Your youth is blooming! Your healing is fast!"

Naruto nodded, glad that his friends were here, even though Gai and Lee were a bit strange. Sasuke and Neji just grunted, while Tenten and Sakura looked strangely uncomfortable.

"What-what happened when I," Naruto waved his arms around in a wide gesture, "When I fell unconscious?"

Sasuke looked annoyed, probably because he had missed it. Lee however had no qualms about telling Naruto exactly what happened.

"As soon as you fell to the ground, your arms blew up!"

"EH?"

"Chakra overload." Kakashi said, looking wise. "You used too much. You won't ever get your thumbs back, Naruto."

The others looked very uncomfortable.

Naruto shrugged. "So? It's just thumbs. I can still be Hokage." It wasn't as heartfelt as his normal declarations, everyone knew it.

"Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "Without your thumbs you won't be able to make jutsus."

Naruto's breath hitched, he shot out of bed, the tray of food flying to the floor. "That can't be possible. No. That just can't-" His voice wavered. This would ruin all his plans, the village was doomed! That's why the Hokage looked so grave. He would try to handle this himself and Naruto would be left out of the loop. No! He couldn't let this happen.

Naruto's face whitened in fear and shock, and he felt a sense of loss. He would never be a ninja anymore. He could never be a Hokage. That hurt more than Konoha's potential defeat.

He turned and vomited at his guests feet. In a shaky voice, he said, "Leave me. Please."  
The others hesitantly left. Kakashi called a nurse and told her to clean up the vomit later. They would visit Naruto when he was feeling a bit better.  
Chapter Five

Naruto awoke the next morning, a bright and sunny day where the birds were chirping and the shops were just opening. It was the start of a new day, and Naruto did not intend to waste it. He said to himself, "I am going to become stronger to protect Konoha!" That was his vow. That was his hope. His dream was to become the Hokage, but he could not do that if Konoha was destroyed.

Orochimaru.

Akatsuki.

Those were his two main enemies, the two groups that he intended to defeat, and defeat spectacularly. He had a second chance now, a new world, a new life to start over. He was not going to waste it.

He looked at the alarm clock that lay on the kitchen fridge. It was 9 in the morning. Kakashi had told him to come at ten. Naruto had lots of time, he decided because Kakashi usually came late.

But... He wanted to get to know his team better. Get their trust. So he ate a quick breakfast that consisted of apples plucked from a tree near his dingy apartment, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, and ran to the meeting place.

He reached there in record time, two minutes.

Sasuke was leaning against a tree, Sakura beside him trying to draw him into a conversation. Naruto rolled his eyes, ran a hand through his blond hair, and walked over to the two.

"Hey!" He waved enthusiastically. Sasuke nodded, Sakura glared.

"When is Kakashi going to get here?" They shrugged. So much for conversation. After that they brooded in silence, neither willing to talk much. Sakura on the other hand was going on and on about a party she was going to host.

This was getting ridiculous. And a waste of time. Naruto sighed, and walked away heading into the nearby forest. He climbed a tree, and decided to take a nap.

Two hours later, Kakashi arrived bearing in his arms three long wooden poles. "Oi Naruto!" He called after greeting the two.

When they were all gathered together, Kakashi explained: "Yo. The Hokage thinks some of us have been hiding our talents." Kakashi looked at Naruto for a few seconds before continuing. "He thinks we can take on some C-ranked missions after a week of training. So..." He handed them each a pole.

"Free for all spar!" He exclaimed. "You will all be fighting against each other, last one standing wins."

Naruto nodded, "Only taijutsu?"

"Yes, no chakra moves and certainly no Kage Bunshin." Kakashi glared at Naruto before continuing. "All of you spread out a few feet. When I say begin, you will start."

"Good luck Sasuke!" Sakura said, shooting him what was in her mind a sultry grin.

This was a golden opportunity for Naruto. He needed to train his body up some more, his jutsus were already perfect. Besides with no Kyuubi to boost his chakra, some good old taijutsu would help grow his reserves.

"Aye, good luck guys." He said, trying to be a sport. They ignored him. This was getting annoying...

Kakashi moved away a bit, "Okay guys! Begin!"

The three stood still, Sasuke looked determined as he held the pole with two hands one at each side. Sakura copied Sasuke. Naruto shrugged and decided to do something original.

He put his left hand forwards, holding the pole one handed. With his left hand he beckoned the two while taking a few steps backward. "Come and get me," He said. "If you can that is."

Sasuke growled, Sakura had no intention of attacking her crush. Naruto would be the first one to go down, they guessed.

They guessed wrong.

Sasuke charged, trying to hit Naruto as much as possible. Naruto blocked his hits and kept moving backwards. Sakura started to sneak up behind him.

Naruto noticed out of the corner of his eye, and just as Sakura was about to jab the pole where the sun doesn't shine, he stepped sideways before swinging the pole at both their feet. It missed.

Kakashi occasionally watched them spar, most of his attention focused on his book. This continued for the rest of the day, it looked like a stalemate.

The sun was going down, so Kakashi closed his book, and hollered. "Okay that's enough for today. Tomorrow we will have a small contest with a rival team."

They looked up in surprise, especially Naruto. 'Wow, Kakashi-sensei is actually teaching us something...' In his old universe, Kakashi was a lazy bastard.

"Which team?"

"Maito Gai has agreed to let his team spar with us. It will be a good learning opportunity, getting your butts kicked." He said apathetically. "Anyways get a good rest." Then he strolled away, still reading his book.

They all went home each very tired, hungry, and bruised and none of them had the energy to worry about the contest tomorrow.

Chapter 6 – Training: Day Two

The next day, Naruto awoke, eagerly anticipating the team competition. 'If I can't defeat Gai's team single headedly, how can I last against Orochimaru?'

He knew he could though. He was confident in his ability, because becoming an ANBU captain was extremely difficult. He had mastered at least a few hundred different jutsus. The only difference was he was not very fit, and he did not possess the Kyuubi's chakra.

His two main weaknesses. He needed more chakra reserves, and more taijutsu training. Gai's team was mainly focused on taijutsu, especially Lee, so this would be an ideal opportunity to train up.

Naruto got out of bed with a wide grin, and made a grill cheese sandwich. He ate it quickly while he ran to the meeting place.

It was pretty cold today, Naruto thought, shivering in the freezing wind. There were grey clouds above him, he sighed. It was going to rain, he just knew it. He was not a big fan of mud fights.

Once again, Sasuke and Sakura were already there. He briefly wondered how they always got there earlier, but put it out of his mind as he examined Gai's team.

Hyuuga Neji. Cold, and unemotional. A sharp contrast from Rock Lee, dressed in a green spandex suit that imitated his sensei. He had a scowl on his face as he glared at Neji. The third member, Tenten, looked excited as she twirled her shuriken and her kunai. Gai stood behind them doing push ups. Lee joined them soon enough.

Naruto walked over to his team, "Where's Kakashi?" He asked.

They shrugged. Naruto sighed and waited by a tree, meditating.

Three hours later, Kakashi showed up. "Sorry I'm late guys!" He called. The two teams and Gai made their way over to Kakashi.

"How are we going to do this, Kakashi?" Gai asked. "This idea of yours, a spar will give my team a chance to feel their youth, but what are the rules?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Let them fight." He said, already bored. He walked upon a tree, sat in a brunch and took out his book. He sat there reading, ignoring the dirty looks from his team and Gai.

"Okay!" Gai exclaimed, "Let's do this!" He gave everyone a thumbs up and a wink. "At my mark, both teams will start fighting. Don't aim to kill," He gave Neji a stern look. "Or mutilate," The look was directed at an innocent looking Tenten, "But you all should enjoy your youth."

Naruto nodded. "We can use weapons right?"

"Of course!" Tenten exclaimed, "I can't fight without them."

"Yes." Gai said. Naruto smirked and turned to his team. "Everyone get your bamboo sticks," He said. "We will show this team how to fight!"

"Don't be an idiot." Sakura muttered, while Sasuke stayed silent. But they all went to get their sticks. It was lined up in a row, leaning against a tree.

Once they were all loaded up, with Tenten having a shuriken in her hands, and Lee taking off his weights, they nodded to Gai.

"Okay teams! Ready! Set! Go!"

Naruto immediately sprung to the offensive, and attacked Neji, the strongest member. He had defeated him before, this would be easy, he thought. He waved his bamboo in circles, not letting Neji get closer. Sasuke sprung to the offensive at Lee, while Tenten started attacking Sakura.

Sakura dodged, thanks to her running skills and stamina. They were holding up alright, Naruto thought as he divided his attention on his team. Neji was trying to get closer, and he was trying to cut the bamboo stick in half. Naruto smirked, he wouldn't be able to because he had powered the bamboo with chakra. It was practically unbreakable.

Neji leaped back, landing his feet on a tree, then jumped at an immense speed right at Naruto. The boy parried Neji's blows with his stick and tried to distance himself. Neji however had other plans. "Hyuuga special attack!" He cried, and started spinning in a circle of blue light. Naruto's eyes widened as his stick was shredded into pieces. He jumped back, but caught a few blows on his arms. They were tattered and scratched. Naruto growled, ignoring his pain.

Once Neji completed his attack, he stopped to get his breath back. Naruto didn't let him however, as he immediately ran up to Neji and launched a high kick to his chin.

Neji blocked it with his hands, punching a tenkutsuki point and disabling Naruto's ankle. Naruto fell to the ground, Neji jumped at him, his hand, powered with chakra, about to strike Naruto's neck. "It's over." He said.

Naruto grinned at him. He was an ANBU captain, and he had learnt some dirty tricks after all. He spit in Neji's eye, using chakra to make the spit a bit acidic. The ball of spit hit Neji right in the bayuken eye. Neji clutched his hand over his eye, and screamed in pain. Naruto kicked Neji back, and turned around to see how his team mates were holding up. Sakura was cut all over the place, and had shuriken stuck in her shoulder and legs. She had surrendered. Sasuke was beaten unconscious. Tenten and Lee were both watching Neji's fight.

Naruto grinned. "Three versus one. I like this!" He exclaimed. Gai looked uncomfortable, Naruto wondered why.

Naruto backed up against a tree, even Kakashi was watching. Neji and his team mates closed in around him, in a circle.

"I need a bamboo!" He muttered angrily.

"Here." Kakashi shouted, throwing him a stick. Naruto looked up in surprise as he caught the stick, a glint came to his eye. It was a mean glint, like that of a fat bald man stealing a kid's Christmas presents. Mean.

"Ready?" He asked.

Neji nodded, "Attack him guys." He said calmly. Lee rushed forward, aiming a spinning kick at his face. Naruto knocked him aside with the bamboo: a quick smack to his chest. Lee flew into a tree. Chakra flowed through Naruto at an immense pace. He could feel his chakra becoming stronger by the second. It wouldn't be long before he could match his old self's power.

"Come and get me." He taunted, and jumped. He used chakra to fuel the jump as he launched himself into the air, about twenty feet or so. He landed behind Neji and Tenten. Lee got up and started running at him. Tenten took out a two kunai and threw it at him, while Neji joined Lee in the charge.

Naruto used the bamboo to knock the two kunai aside with two quick hits. Then he jumped once more, but not up, rather in the direction of the two charging genin. Their eyes widened as they saw Naruto flying toward them, the bamboo held horizontally. The ends of the bamboo hit them on the chin, knocking them over as Naruto slid to the ground. He tried to get up, but his left ankle stopped his mobility. The tenkutsuki point was still shut. He had to use his right leg for most of his taijutsu moves.

Or he could use some cool jutsus.

Naruto grinned widely, and struggled to get up. Meanwhile, Lee had jumped into the air and launched himself at Naruto with a kick. The kick hit Naruto on the forehead. Hard. He flew a few feet away and landed on the ground with a thud. Neji also started forward, but just as he was about to punch Naruto in the stomach, he rolled away. He sat up, and made a few hand seals. "Summon: Waterfall!"

A huge wave of water swept the Genin team away. Naruto panted in exhaustion, cursing his stamina, or lack of it. The Genin team was quick to get to their feet, Tenten had retrieved her Kunai and started to throw them at Naruto, who was hard pressed to dodge. She also added some shuriken.

"If you want to use jutsus, then we'll play it your way!" She shouted, "Shuriken: Multiply!" She said after making some hand seals. The two shuriken changed into fifty. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the wave of metal about to hit him. He shut his eyes and concentrated on jutsu that required no hand seals.

"Teleport!" He shouted. Suddenly just before the shuriken hit him, he popped out, and popped beside Tenten. Using the bamboo in his hand he swept at her feet. She tripped and fell, Naruto smirked and moved in for the kill, so to speak.

Suddenly Neji came up behind him and kicked him in the back. Hard. Naruto fell forward on top of Tenten, who pushed him up. Lee ran up and jumped in the air. Using the momentum, he shouted, "Dynamic Entry!"

Naruto flew away, flung like a rock. He hit the trunk of a tree, and slid down, half conscious. He would not give up though. As the team moved in for the final blow, He spluttered out: "Summon: Waterfall!"

Once again the team was swept back, but they knew they had won. Naruto had used up the last of his strength. He let unconsciousness take him, not caring if he lost.

Time Traveller

Part Two - The Degeneration Process and Revelation  
Prologue of Part Two

Naruto got up from the hospital bed with a start, gasping and panting. Sweat beads ran down his face, he just had a nightmare about the Kyuubi. The monstrous beast was unleashed upon the old world, meaner than ever, torturing, killing and maiming by the thousands. There were no bounds to his cruelty….

What have I done? He wondered as his memories came back to him. He had made a deal with the devil, and now his friends were paying for it. "What am I doing?" He asked himself.

He had no answer.

He looked out the window and into the sunset. 'Konoha is my home. I abandoned it.' He was filled with an empty longing, remorse and sadness.

The door opened. Kakashi walked in, followed by the Hokage. They looked grave and serious, Naruto recognized the look… Ninja going to battle….

"Hello sensei, Sandaime Hokage." He nodded at each, serious and unwilling to be a boy any longer. His look mirrored the two visitors.

"You seem well." Kakashi said, "We need to talk."

The Hokage stood in silence. Naruto frowned in confusion wondering what was going on. "What is it?" He asked.

There was a pregnant pause, before the Hokage spoke.

"Have a look at your arms, Naruto." He said. "Go on, look."

"Huh…? Okay."

Naruto pulled off the white bed sheet and held up his arms. It felt normal, what happened.

Then he noticed.

His hands...

His thumbs were gone.

Chapter Eight

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and surprised. "What h-happened?" He stammered out at last and looked into the Hokage's grey hard eyes.

"You are a time traveller." He said simply at last after examining Naruto. "I knew it from the first time I saw you."

Naruto gasped, "W-what?"

"Legilimency. The art of reading minds. I am quite good at it, and certainly good enough to detect changes such as this."

Naruto gulped and frantically thought about what to say next. Should he go with the truth? Or should he try to lie his way out?

"The truth, if you please. What happened in your old universe."

Naruto blinked. Had the Hokage just read his mind? Nevermind that, he had more important things to worry about. Maybe the Hokage could help him in his quest to save Konoha. He was the Hokage after all. Naruto rubbed his eyes and started on his tale.

Once he started he couldn't stop. He told the Hokage everything… Sasuke's betrayal, Orochimaru's ambush and the Hokage's murder in the Chuunin exams, the fall of the Akatsuki… It was relieving to let go of the weight, Naruto noticed. He had been under a lot of pressure, lots of decisions to be made, and now they could all be delegated to the wise old Hokage.

After Naruto had finished, the Hokage nodded and walked over to the window. "Nobody else knows you are a time traveller. I would like to keep it that way."

Naruto grinned, that was a relief! More people meant more leakage as Naruto had learnt when he was an ANBU captain. He glanced at his thumbs again, "Hey Hokage, why are my thumbs gone?" He demanded. "Did you do it?"

"No. You made a deal with the Kyuubi no Kitsune. This is demon magic, Naruto. You won't survive this."

"What?!"

"You have less than a year left before you will be whisked back to your own universe. We have a lot of things to do in that time."

"Wait, what do you mean? How do you know?"

The Hokage looked sadly at Naruto and said, "Because I have done the same thing as you to prevent…. Prevent something." He sighed and opened the door. "You should rest now. Whatever you do, don't use your chakra. That will just speed up the process."

"What will you be doing?"

"I am going to resign from my position as Hokage so I can deal with this full time."

Naruto's eyes popped out of his skull, metaphorically. "WHAT!"

The Hokage grinned mischievously, obviously enjoying the effect. "Just think what the rest of the ninjas will do when they find out."

Naruto hesitated. "You aren't going to tell them about me, are you?"

The Hokage shook his head, before walking out he whispered, "That will be our secret."

Naruto heard him however. He sighed and his lips quirked in relief. He settled down to sleep.

----------------------

Later that day, there was a knock on the door. Naruto was eating his lunch, gratefully provided by the nurses. "Come in!" He shouted, intent to see who his visitors were.

It was his team, and Gai's Team. Kakashi also followed. "Hey Naruto!" Gai and Lee called out cheerfully. "Your youth is blooming! Your healing is fast!"

Naruto nodded, glad that his friends were here, even though Gai and Lee were a bit strange. Sasuke and Neji just grunted, while Tenten and Sakura looked strangely uncomfortable.

"What-what happened when I," Naruto waved his arms around in a wide gesture, "When I fell unconscious?"

Sasuke looked annoyed, probably because he had missed it. Lee however had no qualms about telling Naruto exactly what happened.

"As soon as you fell to the ground, your arms blew up!"

"EH?"

"Chakra overload." Kakashi said, looking wise. "You used too much. You won't ever get your thumbs back, Naruto."

The others looked very uncomfortable.

Naruto shrugged. "So? It's just thumbs. I can still be Hokage." It wasn't as heartfelt as his normal declarations, everyone knew it.

"Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "Without your thumbs you won't be able to make jutsus."

Naruto's breath hitched, he shot out of bed, the tray of food flying to the floor. "That can't be possible. No. That just can't-" His voice wavered. This would ruin all his plans, the village was doomed! That's why the Hokage looked so grave. He would try to handle this himself and Naruto would be left out of the loop. No! He couldn't let this happen.

Naruto's face whitened in fear and shock, and he felt a sense of loss. He would never be a ninja anymore. He could never be a Hokage. That hurt more than Konoha's potential defeat.

He turned and vomited at his guests feet. In a shaky voice, he said, "Leave me. Please."  
The others hesitantly left. Kakashi called a nurse and told her to clean up the vomit later. They would visit Naruto when he was feeling a bit better. 


End file.
